Geocaching
Today I'm going to discuss my frankly ridiculous hobby, geocaching. Geocaching is most poetically described as using multi-million pound satellites to find tupperware in the woods.
Here's how it works: someone hides a container, often but not limited to tupperware, in a location worth visiting, again not limited to woods. As they do so they take get the GPS co-ordinates of the location of the container, or "geocache", and these are listed online. Using a GPS device or just an app on a phone you can find the exact location of the container. When you get there you sign your name in the log book within the container and then write up your adventure online.
It's all very silly but also a lot of fun. What I really love about geocaching is the way it takes me to all sorts of places I wouldn't otherwise visit. Often there's lots of information about the place within the online listing. I like looking at the local map and then heading to an are where there's a bunch of geocaches I've not found before. It's a good excuse for a walk and a chance to visit somewhere different.
I've had some interesting experiences this summer whilst out geocaching. One day I was out in area with no official path, though for the most path there was a clear makeshift path to follow. There appeared to be a load of gorse between the path and the cache so I tried to work around it. I gradually found myself deeper and deeper into the British equivalent of a jungle. I found what may well have been a track at one time deep in the middle of it and hoped it would lead me out. Eventually it just led to a point were I could proceed no further. I was hot and sweaty, scratched all over by many thorns and even had to negotiate some dumped lorry tyres. Eventually I retreated back to where I had started and found that there was a really obvious path up to the cache. How had I missed it the first time round?
On another day, I was following path across farmland as closely as I could, though they are not always that easy to follow. At one point I took a wrong turning and ended up wandering into a field full of cows. Initially a few of the cows looked at me and I began to worry as several started to walk purposefully towards me. I continued on as quickly as I could giving them as wide a berth as possible and soon realised the reason they agitated-hiding behind a large trough were a load of calves. Thankfully the cows didn't seem bothered once I had passed the calves but once I was at the top of the field I realised there was no access to the path I needed to be on, so I'd have to return back through the field.
With worries of now being in trouble from an angry farmer or even angrier cows, I quickly headed down the field, this time on the other side so I was even further from the cattle. I made the rare decision that I was probably safer just climbing over the fence rather than going near the cows to go through the narrow access point to the field. Eventually I found myself on the bovine-free correct path.
Sometimes geocaches take you by surprise. One series I did over the summer had a horror theme, including a container shaped like a rat and one cache containing a rubber severed hand which literally made me jump in surprise when I opened it!
Some caches are easier to get to than others. One of the most interesting ones I found over the summer saw me scratching my head at the bottom of a tree, with the cache meant to be on the tree. Whilst some caches do involve the needs to climb trees, this one specifically said "no climbing required". I looked up into the canopy of the tree and something caught my eye. You might just be able to spot it in the photo below.
My height came in useful and after a couple of attempts I managed to grab the dangling object. A gentle pull revealed that the cache container was high in the tree but on an elastic string so I could just pull it down.
The possibilities are as endless as people's imagination. I'm so glad that I discovered geocaching as it's given me so much enjoyment.
Here's how it works: someone hides a container, often but not limited to tupperware, in a location worth visiting, again not limited to woods. As they do so they take get the GPS co-ordinates of the location of the container, or "geocache", and these are listed online. Using a GPS device or just an app on a phone you can find the exact location of the container. When you get there you sign your name in the log book within the container and then write up your adventure online.
I've had some interesting experiences this summer whilst out geocaching. One day I was out in area with no official path, though for the most path there was a clear makeshift path to follow. There appeared to be a load of gorse between the path and the cache so I tried to work around it. I gradually found myself deeper and deeper into the British equivalent of a jungle. I found what may well have been a track at one time deep in the middle of it and hoped it would lead me out. Eventually it just led to a point were I could proceed no further. I was hot and sweaty, scratched all over by many thorns and even had to negotiate some dumped lorry tyres. Eventually I retreated back to where I had started and found that there was a really obvious path up to the cache. How had I missed it the first time round?
On another day, I was following path across farmland as closely as I could, though they are not always that easy to follow. At one point I took a wrong turning and ended up wandering into a field full of cows. Initially a few of the cows looked at me and I began to worry as several started to walk purposefully towards me. I continued on as quickly as I could giving them as wide a berth as possible and soon realised the reason they agitated-hiding behind a large trough were a load of calves. Thankfully the cows didn't seem bothered once I had passed the calves but once I was at the top of the field I realised there was no access to the path I needed to be on, so I'd have to return back through the field.
With worries of now being in trouble from an angry farmer or even angrier cows, I quickly headed down the field, this time on the other side so I was even further from the cattle. I made the rare decision that I was probably safer just climbing over the fence rather than going near the cows to go through the narrow access point to the field. Eventually I found myself on the bovine-free correct path.
Sometimes geocaches take you by surprise. One series I did over the summer had a horror theme, including a container shaped like a rat and one cache containing a rubber severed hand which literally made me jump in surprise when I opened it!
Some caches are easier to get to than others. One of the most interesting ones I found over the summer saw me scratching my head at the bottom of a tree, with the cache meant to be on the tree. Whilst some caches do involve the needs to climb trees, this one specifically said "no climbing required". I looked up into the canopy of the tree and something caught my eye. You might just be able to spot it in the photo below.
My height came in useful and after a couple of attempts I managed to grab the dangling object. A gentle pull revealed that the cache container was high in the tree but on an elastic string so I could just pull it down.
The possibilities are as endless as people's imagination. I'm so glad that I discovered geocaching as it's given me so much enjoyment.
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